Purpose

The October 1, 2026, release of NERIS Schema Version 1.5 introduces additional reporting fields, incident classifications, and selectable values to improve the accuracy and detail of incident reporting.

These updates expand the information that can be documented in First Due's NERIS Fire Incident reports, including incident types, location characteristics, operational actions, fire details, and emerging hazards.

NERIS 1.5 changes are additive and do not introduce new rules or structural changes to the NERIS API.

What's New in NERIS 1.5

Response

Dispatch

• Incident Types: Additional classifications for agricultural vehicle fires, aviation emergencies, ice and water rescues, micromobility collisions, public service calls, and other incident types.
• Special Incident Modifier: The new Civil Unrest classification identifies incidents involving violent public disturbances.
• Person Experiencing Homelessness: A new toggle allows documentation of incidents involving interactions with individuals experiencing homelessness, regardless of the incident location.

Location

• Location Use Type / Specific Use: Expanded classifications include aquatic facilities, data centers, fitness facilities, large distribution warehouses, agricultural greenhouses, automated storage facilities, and tidal waters.
• Location Modifiers: New options include Short-Term Rental, Excessive Fuel, and Hoarding, allowing additional characterization of an incident location.

Operations

Actions

The Overall Departmental Actions Taken field includes additional choices for:

• Utility control and rapid intervention team establishment.
• EMS assistance without patient contact.
• Vehicle electrical disconnection and stabilization.
• Structure and earth stabilization.
• Ground and aerial ladder operations.
• Establishing aircraft landing zones.

Tactical Timestamps

• New Tactical Timestamps Feature: First Due provides a dedicated section under Operations for documenting key tactical milestones during an incident. This feature must be enabled by an administrator under Setup → Operations → Module Interoperability.
• Rapid Intervention Established: NERIS 1.5 introduces a new timestamp to document when a rapid intervention team was established and available for firefighter rescue operations.

For additional information on Tactical Timestamps, see Fire Incident Reporting Release Notes – October 2026.

Information

Fire Damage and Investigation

• Fire Damage: Two new classifications, Affected and Inaccessible, provide additional options for documenting minor property damage or properties that cannot be accessed for evaluation.
• Investigation Type Needed: Updated terminology includes Investigated by Fire and Explosion Investigator, replacing the previous Arson/Fire Investigator classification.
• Outside Fire Violated Local Ordinance: A new toggle allows departments to document when an outside fire violates a local ordinance, such as a burn ban.
• Suppression Appliance: The new Aerial Master Stream option identifies high-volume water streams delivered from elevated apparatus.

Emerging Hazards

• Plug-In Photovoltaics: A new selection under Power Generation → Photovoltaics expands reporting of solar equipment that connects directly to a standard household electrical outlet.

Additional Reporting Enhancements

NERIS 1.5 also includes several updates supporting more consistent incident classification and analysis:

• Incident Classification Corrections: Certain existing classification values have received spelling corrections.
• Updated Terminology: Deprecated values, including the former Arson/Fire Investigator classification and World Cup 2026 special modifier, have been identified in the updated specification.

These enhancements support greater consistency in incident documentation and national incident data analysis.

Important Information

NERIS 1.5 primarily expands existing reporting capabilities through additional fields and selectable values. The update does not introduce new API rules or structural requirements.

When completing a NERIS Fire Incident report, users should select the classifications and operational actions that most accurately reflect the incident and the activities performed.